just picked

Someone heard me complaining about the weather earlier in March! My punishment has been severe allergies to everything blooming at once. In compensation, we are having the longest sweetest spring. All of this jumped out early but then cooler temperatures have kept it all from fading too fast. 

This is my sketchbook entry today, I have so much cleaning up to do after last week's intense painting for the Easter service. My studio and every other surface in the house is covered with dirty brushes in dirty water and containers of color mixes next to wadded up paper towels.
My motto; always draw first, clean up later.

superbowl sunday sketchbook

Well, I wasn't able to predict the exact point spread as I freakishly pulled off last year.  I was right about the Packers winning but not close enough. And as usual, I spent my time sketching very rapidly. 

outdoors in the park

Lovely summer days here lately, although on the hot side.
I have been reading a book by Craig Nelson, "60 Minutes to Better Painting". The inspiring idea here is to sharpen your skills of observation and decision making as a painter by doing quick studies. These are the beginning stages as I have worked though the lessons. A really rough composition sketch first, breaking up shapes with a geometric approach.

Then, another quick study using what Craig Nelson calls a two-value study. And this is as far as I got in the 60 minutes. I decided to return another day to the same little park to practice the steps again and maybe get a little farther.
I am not at all happy about this first effort, but I am eager to learn something from this book and improve.
Craig Nelson graduated from the same school where I earned my degree; The Art Center College of Design. He also was teaching there at the time that I was a student but I didn't take a class from him, although I remember some other students talking about his class.

I called the game

Yes, true story. I called the Super Bowl.

I am the guest who never pays much attention, talks at the wrong moment, and has to be shushed. I just show up at the big game party for the food and fun company.

I always bring my sketching gear, sometimes a freelance job when I have to work on pencils due the next day.

I am just not a sports fan, even less interested in football.

Last night when I arrived at the latest greatest party I was given a slip of paper and told to write my prediction for the final score. I asked "How do they score football? is 100 a good score?"

No one helped me with that, they just groaned.

So I thought well, it would be nice if the Saints won.

And I have been to New Orleans and liked it a lot.

I wrote down, Saints 30 and Colts 18.

I won the prize- a pair of movie tickets.

I am showing an old sketch I did way back, when we lived in South Bend and went to a Notre Dame game. That was the last time I paid much attention.

the ballet

I had the opportunity to see the Russian National Ballet Theatre company dance the full-length in four acts Swan Lake.

I wish that I could describe how much this affected me. I was transported by the performance. I forgot where I was for an evening and floated, whirled, and soared. Those amazing artists make an activity which must be incredibly difficult look as easy as blowing a feather about.

I held my moleskin sketchbook in my lap and tried to capture something of the line, but it was really happening way too fast for me.

Why do we take the time

To make value studies and color sketches?

As I teach about the art process to young people, I must constantly explain about the need to plan, to sketch and make studies ahead of the finish.

And also that they must slow down,

take their time and not rush to get the final project done.

I have often watched a student prepare a fairly nice watercolor wash and then ruin it with a hasty blobby brushstroke, just because they wanted to finish fast.

Here are my color studies of the sunflower series that I am working on now.